Interim Pomona police chief well suited for permanent top job, some say

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In this 2016 photo, Interim Pomona Police Chief Michael Olivieri, answers a question during a pane discussion in Pomona on police-community relations. Some say Olivieri is well suited to be the city’s police chief’s permanently. (Staff file photo by John Valenzuela, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

He’s the interim chief of the Pomona Police Department and comes to the job with 28 years of service to the city.

Deputy Chief Michael Olivieri took over as interim chief upon the retirement of Chief Paul Capraro, whose last day in the chief’s office was Dec. 19. Many have praised Capraro’s work as the head of the police department and some say the next chief should be Olivieri.

“He’s going to be given very strong consideration” for the post, Sandoval said.

Still, the responsibility of overseeing the chief of police is the city manager’s, he said.

City Manager Linda Lowry said Olivieri will serve on an interim basis which could lead to the permanent post.

But, “there is no plan at this point” to conduct an outside search for a chief, she said.

Olivieri, who said he’d like to be considered for the post, is well aware of the city’s limited financial means.

“That budget challenge is going to be the biggest challenge ahead of us,” he said. Resources are limited, yet residents expect a level of service the city can’t always provide.

“We have to find ways to improve service with what we’ve got,” he said.

While Olivieri favors incorporating the use of technology in law enforcement, it is a tool that comes with re-occurring fees that affect budgets, he said.

Looking for efficiencies and streamlining existing processes that allow officers to spend more time focusing on police work is something he would like to do with the involvement of other members of the department, he said.

At the same time, he’d like to continue the department’s on-going efforts to build and strengthen the department’s relations with the community, Olivieri said.